I lost my finger: Around Africa on motorcycle team share their experiences

A group of Kenyans on December 12, 2024 embarked on a historic trip around the coastline of Africa on motorcycle.

The five riders shared their experiences on the road – journeying from Kenya to Ethiopia, detailing minute-by-minute adventure and challenges they endured travelling.

These include mechanical issues with one of the bikes, fueling challenges, police arrests, punctured tires, thirsty bikes, scorching heat and an accident involving one of the team members.

The five riders — Leonard (a civil engineer), Kairu (a lawyer), Nick (Lead Pastor at Nairobi Chapel, Ngong Road), Blixen and Havana (humanitarian worker) — began their sojourn from Kenya through Moyale and into Ethiopia in December 2024.

The team didn’t know what to expect when they embarked on the journey – and if they did – no one had prepared them for the experience; the tears, the smiles and joy of wild travel.

“It is not common for Africans like us to tour Africa. I didn’t know what to expect when I joined the team for the trip,” says Havana – one of the two female riders in the team.

“In Ethiopia we didn’t see a lot of private cars except in major towns. There were many people on donkeys or walking. The scenery in Ethiopia was very beautiful,” she adds.

One of the team members – Blixen Nderitu – had an accident while riding in Ethiopia.

“I don’t know what really happened. I only remember I stepped on something and I was thrown off my bike and onto the road. I rolled off the road for quite a while. By the time I stopped the distance between myself and the bike was like 10 meters.

“I was in so much pain. I thought for a moment that I was dead,” said Blixen who lost her finger in the accident.

Pastor Nick describes the incident which happened 30 Kilometers before Bulehora, as one of the scariest things the team had to deal with.

Blixen, who says she had a proper two hours of pain, had to be driven in a car to a clinic for treatment a she could not ride.

The team would continue their travel – and would meet two amazing Kenyans; Bernard and Grace living in Ethiopia.

“This Kenyan, a total stranger, came to the health center where we were and personally paid for the initial cost of treatment. The same man had been waiting to host us in Bulehora for breakfast,” said Pastor Nick.

According to Nick, the way everything fitted together, gave him the assurance that God had already gone before them and sorted everything for the team.

“This trip aims to raise funds for the establishment of the LOGOS Educational Endowment Fund to support 500 students who are currently on scholarship with the LOGOS Scholarship Fund in different high schools in Kenya,” says Pastor Nick.

The historic trip around the coastline of Africa (covering a distance of 40,000 kms in 6 months) will run until May 2025.

The team visited sites in Ethiopia: ate a wide range of foods like injera, visited the Danakil Depression (the hottest part of the earth), swam at Lake Afdera, and visited the very active Erta Ale volcanic mountain.

“The official Around Africa Fundraising MPESA Paybill is 8060305. The Account is your name. This will run for the next six months, as we journey for education around Africa on motorcycle,” said Nick.